Next step?

LoveLee2014 · February 2016

I know there are so many options and opinions out there. I really just want what is safe for my LO. I would like the to have him rear facing until age 2 or so because I hear it's really safe. Do all of the next step up car seats do a rear facing option? Or, just specific ones? Right now I have a 4 door car and he is in the back, middle seat, because it's the most safe location for him(correct?). It's a total pain in the butt to have him in the middle, but it's where he needs to be. My only issue is, he's a big baby. If he's rear facing, where in the world do his legs and feet go as he grows if he's rear facing?? He's five months and his legs and feet are already at the end of the car seat!! What have others done? Thank you.

tlc11934 · February 2016

My other two went into a convertible car seat at 5 months. We're using her bucket in one car and a convertible for DD in the other right now. The rear facing convertible we have goes up to 40lbs. We switched our other two to front facing at 11 months but the law changed this sept in my state and now 2 years is required.

dmbfan46835 · February 2016

Like PP said, they should be rear facing for the first 2 years.

shelbydd · February 2016

Definitely rear face until 2.. Longer if possible. All convertible car seats rear face. We just transitioned out of LOs infant seat into a convertible. His infant seat only when up to 35lbs, this one will rear face up to 40lbs and forward face up to 65lbs. LO definitely prefers it, as do it. We got the Chicco NextFit zip. It was a lot easier to install, it also takes up less space in my back seat. He seems much more comfortable.

Yiggle09 · February 2016

Not all do rear facing- the one we got from the shower as our next size up does not go rear facing so we ended up purchasing a 4 in 1 from graco because LO grew out of the chicco key fit. The 4 in 1 has 9 different settings i believe for reclining and things like that. we are keeping the one that does not rear face for my husbands car when LO is ready for it.

Yiggle09 · February 2016

Their legs just go to the side according to a FB group im on because I couldnt understand it either lol. The ladies said they think the kids are more comfortable because their legs dont dangle when its rear facing...

abchrist1 · February 2016

DD is over 2 years (27 months) and in the 95th percentile for height, she still rear faces. She's in the britax boulevard, I think the height limit is 40 inches, every seat is different. She doesn't complain, in fact besides her bed, the carseat is the only other place she'll sleep. Her legs either dangle over the sides or she bends her knees with her legs in front of her.
I have a minivan and can recline the seat a little, not sure if that helps with the leg room. But they're so flexible, what might look uncomfortable to us is not for them. Lots of people make passive comments about how she's still rear facing, but because it's so much safer I'm not turning her until she reaches the height requirement (which will probably be soon, she's tall, closer to the height limit than the weight).

buckleyk · February 2016

DS1 has always been in the 90+ percentile for height and being rear facing never bothered him. Even now that he's forward facing he still keeps his legs in a similar froggy- like position.

ForeverEverAfter · February 2016

Dd1 was 3yo when she outgrew her Evenflo sureride RFing limits (she hit 41" in height). She was still comfy. Kids like to curl up, she just bent her knees or crossed her legs. If she sits on the couch she's all curled up too! It's 500% safer according to a recent news article (was viral on Facebook). All convertibles do RFing and FFing, but some have very low RFing limits (One seat we had could only be used RFing until 32"... didn't get us very far!).

LoveLee2014 · February 2016

I really want RFing until 2 or older, I was just trying to picture where my long legged boy was going to put his legs! LOL Curling up makes sense. @ForeverEverAfter I don't have Facebook, any way you can find that specific article for me? I'm going to try to find it.

abchrist1 · February 2016

csftl.org, rear facing car seat myths busted. Helpful article

shelbydd · February 2016

@Yiggle09 if it doesn't rear face then it's not a "convertible" car seat. That's literally the definition of convertible. It converts from rear facing to front facing.

ForeverEverAfter · February 2016

I can't find it now, but it was a video clip of an expert being interviewed on a Dr tv talk show. Haha-can you tell I don't have tv? I didn't catch the name of the show. But a quick google shows that 500% statistic in a ton of different places, looks accurate.

jen83mn · February 2016

shelbydd said:

Definitely rear face until 2.. Longer if possible. All convertible car seats rear face. We just transitioned out of LOs infant seat into a convertible. His infant seat only when up to 35lbs, this one will rear face up to 40lbs and forward face up to 65lbs. LO definitely prefers it, as do it. We got the Chicco NextFit zip. It was a lot easier to install, it also takes up less space in my back seat. He seems much more comfortable.

Ditto to all! We just transitioned our 6-month-old last week and also got the Chicco NextFit Zip (FYI to OP: Consumer Reports rated this seat with the "best" safety rating, along with a few others, if you're looking for safety reviews.) LO still fit in his infant sit based on the length and height requirements, but he was too heavy to carry in it anymore (almost 20 lbs, 28 inches tall) so it made sense to switch, and his new convertible seat seems to offer more side impact protection than the infant seat did. We got the Zip for the easy-to-clean factor ... figured it was worth the extra money. It's a spendy seat, but we took advantage of the Babies R Us Trade-In Event to get 25% off (you can trade in any baby equipment, not just car seats, for the savings coupon ... I didn't have anything to trade in so I actually found someone on my local Facebook garage sale site who was looking to dispose of their expired car seats and traded those in for the coupons).

LoveLee2014 · February 2016

Thank you so much!!! Do the trade in car seats have to be expired? @jen83mn that's a great idea on the garage sale. I don't mind investing good money in it, if it's really safe and he can use it for YEARS!!!

Yiggle09 · February 2016

@shelbydd There are many different convertible car seats. We have a 3 in one car seat that is convertible where it goes from a front face car seat to a booster. It is for age one or 20 lbs with good head control according to the instructions. It does not do rear facing and is still convertible. The "literal" definition of convertible is something able to be changed in form, function, or character. This goes from a car seat to a booster ergo convertible.
*Graco Argos 80 Elite 3-in-1 Car Seat- when we picked it out at the store we were unaware it was not designed to rear face. We thought oh when he grows out of the infant one he can go into this one but LO has been out of the infant car sear since christmas and we unfortunately had to purchase another car sear because our convertible 3 in 1 seat does not rear face which he will need until at least a year.

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